With reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a human knee joint is shown and generally indicated by reference numeral 10. The knee joint 10 is a junction of four bones: a femur 12, a tibia 14, a fibula 16 and a patella 18. Myriad medical problems can require partial or complete replacement of one or more portions of the aforesaid bones that form the knee joint 10. When using a prosthetic device to replace portions of the knee joint 10, positioning and preparation of the bones may be necessary to provide a proper fit for one or more prosthetic devices. Positioning and preparation of the patella can include, for example, exposing a posterior side 20 of the patella 18 to resect portions thereof in preparation for attachment of a patella prosthetic.
When implanting the prosthetic on the patella 18, access to the posterior side 20 requires an incision 22 in the skin 24 adjacent to the knee joint 10. A medical professional may aide in healing and recovery by reducing the number of incisions 22, reducing the respective size of each of the incisions 22 or reducing the magnitude of manipulation of the patella bone 18. On the other hand, the size of incisions 22 in minimally invasive procedures may limit the amount and size of the equipment that may be used in vivo or adjacent to the incision 22. Furthermore, any reductions in complexity and any increase in efficiency of the equipment may be realized in reductions in cost and procedure complexity and reductions in discomfort and recovery time.